[BACKLOG] Well, that was something!

Posted on Friday February 23rd, 2024 @ 9:40am by Cadet Freshman Grade Chloe Graydon & Cadet Freshman Grade Daisy Stanier

1,925 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Grand Tour: Part Two
Location: Risa Surface
Timeline: During the events of "Shore Leave"
Tags: Shore Leave, 2395, Character Development

Chloe walked down the hallway of the hotel that her and Daisy had decided to rent a room in. They had rented the room for 3 days; plenty of time to enjoy everything around them, and hopefully get in a few shopping sprees as well. "Well, here we are, room three-oh-five. Apparently it's meant to be one of the best rooms in the building. Mum really came through for us this time!" She said, smiling as she scanned her wristband over the door entry system. It was a little bit old fashioned for the time, but it made the room feel secure at least. The doors parted in front of them, and she lead them into a large hotel room, filled with two king sized beds, two separate "his and hers" bathrooms, as well as a large screen on the wall for watching things.

"Well it's definitely bigger than our room on the ship!" She remarked, looking around. On board the ship they had a shared room, with two single beds. Although this was plenty for their needs, it was always nice to have a bit of extra room to spread out in. "Oh wow...this bed is so soft, I feel like I could sleep here for a week!" She said, as she laid back into the mattress. "I wonder if they could get us beds like these in our quarters?" She asked with a small giggle.

"Oh, if only..."

Daisy was awe struck by the size and luxury of the room. While it was probably still considered fairly 'basic' for some, she had never been one to take many holidays before her time in Starfleet. This first official shore leave of hers was the first time she had ever been to any sort of dedicated resort, let alone a whole planet dedicated to pleasure like Risa.

Setting down her knapsack at the foot of her bed and sitting down on it, the young freshman Cadet immediately felt the mattress conform to her shape, the sheets delicate and inviting. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Looking over to the bathrooms, she noticed the "His and Hers" signs on the doors. How very twenty-first century Earth. Judging by the layout and function of the rooms, however, that seemed to be the exact style and period the hotel was trying to capture.

Looking back over to Chloe, whom she had grown fairly close to over their time together on the Poseidon, Daisy - in the ever conscientious fashion that she aspired to under the tutelage of Commander Shakura - took another check of her friend's 'baby bump', which had by now grown to quite the size. Over the past few weeks especially, she had taken to checking on her - as subtly as she could - to gauge how things were progressing. Her due date wasn't for another few weeks, but even with all the wonders of modern Federation medicine, the miracle of childbirth still held it's own allure of secrecy.

"How are you feeling, Chloe?" Daisy asked in a gentle tone.

"I'm feeling okay. Bit of stomach pain, but nothing that I can't handle." She said, a small grimace on her face. The pain had started a few minutes after they'd walked into the room, but she'd tried to put it to the back of her mind, and distract herself with the room they had. Pain wasn't out of the ordinary for her, and it was probably just one of those things that came with being pregnant. "You want to order room service, or head to the restaurant? I'm famished, and so's the baby!" She said, trying her best to put on a smile to alleviate her friends worries.

Daisy cracked a smile, belying her concerns about Chloe's complaint of slight pains. "Let's do room service! I've never had the chance to try something like that before, and it would give us a chance to rest and save our energy for exploring the sights and shops tomorrow."

Getting up off her bed, she went looking for the menu that the clerk at the check-in desk had mentioned. "What do baby and mother-to-be fancy having this evening?" Daisy carried on the conversation, her tone mimicking a fancy waiter. Chloe had grown to become one of the few people aboard the ship that she felt she could be around with her hair down.

"I really want a burger with mushrooms, onions, bacon, the works...and baby is currently craving a pickle, slathered in peanut butter. That is definitely one of the cravings I will absolutely not miss from this pregnancy!" She said lightly, placing a hand onto her bump.

Daisy had become somewhat familiar with Chloe's pregnancy cravings and their oddities. The pickle slavered with peanut butter had become something of a delicacy within their shared quarters. She briefly worried whether this was something their Risian hosts would find odd. Then she remembered it was Risa; these people never found any request for pleasure and satisfaction too odd to fulfil, right? At least that's what all the other cadets had said.

"Okay then...let's see here..." The young Counsellor's Aide, having now found their menu, also found the telecommunications device. As the hotel was trying to evoke Twenty-First Century Earth, Daisy understood that these were the pre-eminent communication device of the period. Yet to her it looked rather clunky and strange. The buttons far more tactile than the screens they were used to aboard the Poseidon.

"Remind me again why we picked this room, specifically?" Daisy looked back at Chloe as she clumsily held the receiver to her ear.

"I believe you suggested it, saying that it would be a good learning point to experience some of the old earth technology, if I remember correctly." Chloe said, trying to stifle a laugh." She looked around the room, taking in the other 21st century oddities throughout the room, including a flat screen TV with a remote control, a water filled jacuzzi outside on the balcony, and a wall safe, for personal belongings she guessed.

"Right..." Daisy responded, comically mimicking a facepalm as she waited patiently for her call to be answered on the other end so they could order her food. While she pretended that she was regretting the choice, deep down she was relishing the quirkiness of the experience.

As Daisy waited for the call to be answered, Chloe laid back carefully on the bed. She was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. This was not massively unusual for her, however this one felt different. A pained expression passed over her face, however she tried to keep quiet, not wanting to concern Daisy, or ruin their time on the planet.

Daisy twirled the archaic phone cable through her fingers for a few more seconds until the receiver finally picked up, the crack of the pick-up on the other end causing her to startle, being so unfamiliar with the old form of communication. "Oh, hello! Haha, yes. Yes, uh, I'd like to place an order for some food for my roommate and I...Yes, this is our first time here. Uh-huh."

She looked over at Chloe and gave her a thumbs up with excited grin, but she noticed how her friend was moving in slight discomfort. She mouthed the words, "Everything OK?"

Chloe nodded, but her expression betrayed her, with the pain starting to increase. "Crap...this isn't good timing." She said almost silently to herself.

Daisy was astute enough to read the pain etched over Chloe's face. "Uh--excuse me, just one second." She fumbled with the archaic communicator as she tried to be as calm as possible in turning her full attention towards her friend. "Chloe, what's wrong?"

"Really bad cramps...I'm sure it's nothing..." Chloe said, trying not to worry her friend.

Daisy was, unfortunately for Chloe, completely unconvinced as her jaw almost hit the floor. "Is--is this happening right now?" The young cadets breathing started to heighten as thoughts about what may be about to transpire began racing through her mind. She started to jump about on the balls of her feet, as if warming herself up.

"Okay. Okay. O-K." Daisy kept repeating to herself for the next few seconds, her eyes almost turning into a thousand yard stare. There was noise coming from the receiver but for now she wasn't acknowledging it.

Chloe waved her hand in front of Daisy's face, trying to bring her back down to reality. "Anyone would think you were the one having this baby!" She said jokingly, trying to make Daisy laugh slightly. "Maybe you should speak to the staff on the phone, they might have a better idea of what to do here?" She said, pointing at the receiver that was still making noise.

Chloe did manage to elicit a small giggle from Daisy as she joked, but when she pointed to the receiver that was still in her hand and clearly had a voice talking on the other end of the line, she almost jumped out of her skin from the excitement. "Oh, shit!" She almost fumbled the receiver completely, her palms growing sweaty, but she managed to catch it just in time and brought it back to her ear. "Y-yes, hello? Sorry about that. Cancel the food order, we've got another delivery coming on the way, haha...N-no, I'm not talking about a food order, I was making a joke about a baby being on the way..." There was a pause, then Daisy pulled the most stunned face as a question came on the other end. "No, not mine! You think I'm pregnant? Did you not see my friend as she came in?!"

"They thought you were pregnant?" Chloe said with a puzzled face.

"I know, right? How ridiculous! You'd think Risans, of all people, would know--" Daisy, in the heat of the moment, was leaning into a more nervous and humourful disposition in order to try and lighten the tone. Yet, she caught herself. "Okay, you know what, we're not going to get into this now..." She returned her ear to the receiver.

"I think my friends about to give birth. We need help."

"It might be easier to just have them beam us directly to the ship." Chloe said as the pain started to get worse. "Pretty soonish would be great!"

"Oh, jeez..." Daisy's mind raced with all the potential pros and cons of hailing the Poseidon to directly beam them up. On the one hand, her knowledge of transporters didn't suggest any risk to the child - indeed, she had heard one tale of Dr. Bashir of Deep Space Nine using the same technology to avert complications at birth - but she still worried about not knowing exactly where the baby was along it's journey, and whether that posed a complication for either Chloe or her baby.

Eventually though, realising the pain etched on her friends face, she bit the bullet. Taking one last look around their hotel room, she cursed that they would not get a chance to fully enjoy it, as she then tapped her commbadge.

=/\= Cadet Stanier to the Bridge: Two--no, er--Three? To beam aboard. Maybe it is still two--oh, fudge it. Tell the XO that Cadet Graydon is having her baby and we need immediate assistance from Medical now!" =/\=

[OFF]

Cdt. Freshman Grade Daisy Stanier
Chief Counsellor's Aide
U.S.S. Poseidon

&

Cdt. Freshman Grade Chloe Graydon
Operations Cadet
U.S.S. Poseidon

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